Background M16 rifle

ar-10 rifle

the ar-10 featured innovative straight-line barrel/stock design, forged aluminum alloy receivers , phenolic composite stocks. had rugged elevated sights, oversized aluminum flash suppressor , recoil compensator, , adjustable gas system. final prototype featured upper , lower receiver now-familiar hinge , takedown pins, , charging handle on top of receiver placed inside of carry handle. 7.62mm nato rifle, ar-10 incredibly lightweight @ 6.85 lbs. empty. initial comments springfield armory test staff favorable, , testers commented ar-10 best lightweight automatic rifle ever tested armory.

in end united states army chose t44 called m14 rifle improved m1 garand 20-round magazine , automatic fire capability. u.s. adopted m60 general purpose machine gun (gpmg). nato partners adopted fn fal , hk g3 rifles, fn mag , rheinmetall mg3 gpmgs.

the first confrontations between ak-47 , m14 came in part of vietnam war. battlefield reports indicated m14 uncontrollable in full-auto , soldiers not carry enough ammunition maintain fire superiority on ak-47. and, while m2 carbine offered high rate of fire, under-powered , outclassed ak-47. replacement needed: medium between traditional preference high-powered rifles such m14, , lightweight firepower of m2 carbine.

as result, army forced reconsider 1957 request general willard g. wyman, commander of u.s. continental army command (conarc) develop .223 caliber (5.56 mm) select-fire rifle weighing 6 lb (2.7 kg) when loaded 20-round magazine. 5.56 mm round had penetrate standard u.s. helmet @ 500 yards (460 meters) , retain velocity in excess of speed of sound, while matching or exceeding wounding ability of .30 carbine cartridge.

this request resulted in development of scaled-down version of armalite ar-10, called armalite ar-15 rifle. air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle made of steel, aluminum alloy , composite plastics, cutting-edge time.